Indians Reject Modi's Fascism
By Dr Aslam Abdullah
CA
Modi lost his magic in India and 62 parliament districts in the 2024 elections compared with 2019. His Hindu nationalist party, the BJP, is short of a clear majority, and he depends on two secular parties to form a coalition government.
The alliance of secular parties, with its resounding victory in 232 districts, has not only disrupted the traditional party norm, with 273 districts forming the government but has also marked a seismic shift in the political landscape, a change that demands our full attention.
Modi's campaign strategy, which notably took an anti-Islam and anti-Muslim stance, had far-reaching consequences. His party's decision to not field a single Muslim candidate, and his warnings to his Hindutva supporters about potential threats, may have played a significant role in his party's loss in certain districts. This rhetoric, which some may argue was divisive, cannot be underestimated in its influence on the election outcome.
He even declared himself a deity with a mission to turn the world into a Hindu /Rashtra. His sycophants called him an incarnation of Hindu gods.
Ironically, his party lost the election in Faizabad. In this district, Modi's gang led the government to demolish a 500-year-old mosque and build a temple dedicated to the Hindu prince Ram, often referred to as Bhagwan Ram.
The Congress-led alliance, INDIA, focused on preserving the constitution, national security, unemployment, price increases, farmer issues, and women's safety. The result was stunning. In South India, the Modi party lost badly. In the east, the central state of West Bengal defeated it heavily. In the north, the respect-seeking people of Punjab rejected the Modi gang, and in the West, Maharashtra, the Marathas won soundly.
Modi's survival depends on non-BJP parties, especially the three parties, who would play the kingmaker's role in the next few months.
It was the alliance of the impoverished, marginalized, and neglected people, a collective voice, that saved India from the potential dark ages of dictatorship. Their overwhelming support for secular candidates and significant representation in the newly elected parliament are powerful reminders of the people's role in shaping the political landscape.
Ironically, the community that India's prime minister often referred to as intruders elected a parliamentarian with over a million votes, a record in Indian electoral history. One of the youngest members of India's highest legislative body is a 28-year-old hijab-wearing girl who completed her law studies in England before joining the Socialist Party to contest the election. Iqra Hassan won from a district where Hindus make up the majority.
Modi and his gang are not happy with the results. They want to capture power to manipulate the country's future electoral map. He is a megalomaniac who wants to stay in control at all costs. He hopes that by being prime minister, he will be able to decimate the opposition and buy over the dissent. His lust for power prevents him from seeing the power of people, whose role was visible in the most dramatic results of the last elections.
Modi, with the RSS industrialists like Adani and Ambani, and Amit Shah, would use every trick in the trade to decimate the dissent and buy over the parliamentarians who belong to coalition partners. Will they succeed or lose? Nothing is certain. However, what is certain is that Modi would remain dependent on others to run the country. The king, who claimed that he alone is sufficient for all, is on his knees to keep himself alive in politics. Modi's future as Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy is not secure. Sooner or later, he would bite the dust like any other dictator and arrogant ruler.
(Dr Aslam Abdullah is a resident scholar at Islamicity.org and editor-in-chief of the Muslim Observer newspaper. He is also the Indian Islamic Heritage Project director of the American Federation of Muslims of Indian origin and the interim President of the World Council of Muslims for Interfaith Relations, WCMIR.)
